Klecko Calls Out Wilk And Coples

The strongest part of the Jets roster is the defensive front, but one member of the New York Sack Exchange doesn’t believe one member of the unit is living up to expectations.

The Jets drafted Quinton Coples with the 16th overall pick in 2012, and the DE/OLB has performed inconsistently in his first two seasons in the league.

“A little bit of the time he looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane,” former Jets great Joe Klecko said on WFAN Friday.

Coples recorded 5.5 sacks in his rookie campaign, but that total lowered to 4.5 in 2013. Last season he transitioned from strictly a defensive lineman into a hybrid 3-4 DE/OLB, lining up at times both with his hand in the dirt and upright as a linebacker.

“Sometimes (Coples) gets out there and does things that are unbelievable,” Klecko said. “Well, you need to go out there and stick your nose in there every time and make sure everybody knows you’re there. I think he has a lot to learn.”

“I don’t know him at all, but understanding attitude and body language, he sometimes comes out there I think and thinks ‘Don’t you know who I am? I’m here,’” Klecko said. “He has to start proving that he is something to be reckoned with.”

Klecko was also critical of Muhammad Wilkerson, who is generally regarded as the best player on Rex Ryan’s defense.

“There’s a few too many plays he gives up on a little bit,” Klecko said. “He’s an unbelievable talent, but he has to put it out there every single play.”

I heard the interview live. He was not really critical of Wilkerson. The DN cherry picked a line here and there and tried to make a story out of it. He was saying that Wilkerson can become even better than he is now, that he still has upside. He said in effect that if Wilkerson played with the same effort on every play like Sheldon Richardson does, he'd be unstoppable. He was, however, critical of Coples.